Looking for something new as I continue to mix it up and try different types of Japanese animated features, I decided to go for Masahiro Ando's Sword of the Stranger. It came with the highest recommendation, and the film was in the top 10 of that Top 30 Japanese animated films of all time that Adam posted in the comment section of Spirited AwayCanada, USA, Europe). I figured that I couldn't go wrong and I was right.

I commend Sword of the Stranger to the attention of anyone not familiar with animated features and, like me, who didn't know where the hell to start to find out what the quality pictures are. This one is gritty, bloody, with plenty of machinations and backstabbing, so it's not for children or those who are young at heart. If you want to give one Japanese animated movie a try, I suggest you give Sword of the Stranger a shot. I reckon that most people hanging around these part would probably enjoy the flick. If you can live with subtitles, that is. . .

The story occurs in Japan during the Sengoku era, at a time when the country is divided into numerous provinces ruled by feudal lords. A young boy named Kotaro and his dog Tobimaru are pursued by an elite force of Ming warriors from China led by a blonde-haired swordsman from the West. A nameless samurai haunted by dark memories from his past and who has sworn never to draw his blade again saves them from certain death. Soon, they are on the run, and little do they know what the Emperor of China has in store for the boy. But when Kotaro is betrayed by those meant to offer him sanctuary and the truth is revealed about his fate, it's up to the nameless ronin to attempt to save the boy's life.

I reckon that many aficionados loved this film because of the intricately staged action scenes. The various fight sequences are extremely bloody, and for a time I feared that Sword of the Stranger would degenerate into a senseless gore-filled affair that would border on the ridicule. Thankfully, I was wrong. The plot is engaging, and so are the characters after a while. Kotaro is a brat at the beginning, but Nanashi's (No Name) influence turns him around, albeit to a certain extent. Masahiro Ando toys with a number of character archtypes such as the Chosen One, and the silent warrior with a buried past, and overall it is well-done.

Visually impressive, though the various fight scenes are paced so fast that you seldom see more than blood gushing and members flying up in the air, but a notch under the visual impact that Hayao Miyazaki and Makoto Shinkai can achieve. Although the tale has depth, there are several plot holes throughout the movie, chief among them exactly why Kotaro is so important to the Emperor, and how did a Westerner like Luo-Lang end up fighting with a Chinese elite squad. But overall, the plot moves well and you're never really lost, just wishing they'd feed you a bit more information about various aspects of the story.

Once again (I've been lucky thus far), the soundtrack by Naoki Sato captures the different moods perfectly. The music is never overdone. It hovers in the background, adding layers and conveying emotions when it's needed.

As far as I know, few animated features have such cross-genre appeal, which is why I encourage you to give it a go! You should rent the DVD if you have the opportunity, of course. But if you are unable to find a copy, you can always try veoh.com, where you'll find versions with French, English, or Spanish subtitles. Or there is a version of YouTube with very good picture quality split into 11 parts. Here's a link to the first part, if you feel like having a glimpse. . .

And here's the trailer:

And here's the ending credits theme, reminiscent of Hans Zimmer's The Last Samurai:

19
commentaires:

For a while the 720p and 1080p releases have been out (as well as an SS 480p sub), but the only way you're going to get a dub is going 480p (that's the way things stand across the board now, regardless; good luck finding a 720p+ dub!).

If you enjoyed the fluidity of the fighting in this one, you might find some love with Seirei no Moribito. It's a solid adventure story, with a female protagonist who is thrust into serving as a bodyguard for a runaway prince being pursued by his own government.

My suggestion for a follow-up would be Jin-Roh: The Wolf Brigade. Modern setting in an Alternate Japan. Has a lot of action and an interesting theme, plus the animation is pretty good. One of my favorites.

As Adam has pointed out, the fighting in Moribito: Guardian of the Spirit is fluent. The animation is top notch too. I can recommend this anime with the highest possible zeal, although it's 26 episodes in length. Moribito is a [URL=http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Guardian_series]Novel[/URL] adaption, so you know you're good with the story part. This is arguably one of the best anime out there.

And as suggested before me, you should try Baccano! It was based on a series of light novels, so you don't have to worry about the plot and integrity of the script. You could classify it as noir/pulp fantasy fiction. I heard the english dub was good but the Japanese seiyus were phenomenal, so advice is to stick with the english sub version.

I got maybe 10 episodes into Fantastic Children and dropped it; it was just slow and boring. It's pretty highly rated though (which is why I picked it up in the first place), so I might get around to muscling through a couple more episodes at some point.

There are some other solid titles that didn't make the 9+/10 mark, and Ga-Rei Zero which I rate as a 9.5 but can't wholeheartedly endorse as a sci-fi title, given the prevalence of the supernatural in it. I definitely cried at the end of that one (which, as an emotionally repressed INTP, is a plus for me and I actively seek it out).

As I did with 5 cm per second, I watched Sword of the Stranger last night via the Youtube link you provided. And it was the shit!

This blog allowed me to find out about so many sff books, but it's cool to get the chance to discover new things in new media. So I'm going to head out to me video store tonight after work and try to find Princess Mononoke.

I've always been interested in anime but have never known anyone (or rather anyone who's opinion/taste I trust) to ask for advice on where to start. So I just wanted to say thanks for doing these reviews. Your suggestions and those of your readers have been a huge help! I am thoroughly enjoying what I've seen so far. :)

Dropping a recommendation for Makoto Shinkai's Hoshi No Koe/Voices of a Distant Star. Since you liked Place Promised in Our Early Days and 5cm per Second, you'd very likely appreciate Voices, and it plays with the concept of time dilation to good effect.

And then you really must watch the anime films by Satoshi Kon (Tokyo Godfathers, Memories: Magnetic Rose, Perfect Blue, Paprika, among others). Apologies if you've mentioned him before, I might have missed it, but just in case you haven't heard of Satoshi Kon - he's one of the best anime directors out there, film or series. Tokyo Godfathers was my favourite - hilarious, touching, very solid animation. Do not miss this guy! I'd love to see you do a review on one of his films :)